Silo.



G. G. BLAIR.

SILO.

APPLICATION FILED our. 29, .1914.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

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UNITED STATES PATEN ornie.

GEORGE o. BLAIR, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

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Application filed October 29, 1914.

T all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, GEORGE1.C. BLAIR, a.

citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Silos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to silos of that type.

composed of tiersof. strips, the strips of each tier bearing a break-joint and tongueand-groove relation to the strips ofthe underlying and overlying tiers, and my object jacent tier and thereby forming an interlocking connection which guards against endwise creepage or shifting of any strip or tier of strips.

Another object is to provide each strip with a projecting tongue and groove in its opposite ends to respectively fit into and receive the groove of an abutting strip and the tongue of another abutting strip of the same tier.

With these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1, is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a silo embodying my invention. Fig. 2, is a perspective view of a fragment of the silo. Fig. 3, is a perspective view of a plurality of the strips of the same tier, said view disclosing the underside of the strips as distinguished from the upper side of the strips as shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4, is a top plan view of a single strip.

In the said drawing, 1 indicates a silo which may be of any suitable diameter and height and which is composed of tiers of strips, the strips of each tier abutting together endwise and bearing a break-joint relation to the strips of the adjacent tier or tiers.

The silo may be provided with any suitable doors, those shown being of the tapered or plug type and adapted to be fitted in the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

Serial No. 869,196.

door openings from the inside of the silo and to be held reliably in placeby the contents of the silo. This type of door is in common use. The silo will preferably be erected upon a suitable platform, such for instance as a foundation 4 of cement.

Referring now to the detailed construction of the strips and the manner of securing them together to form a silo, it will be seen that for a cylindrical silo the strips are of arcua-te form and of course identical as regards length and curvature, and at the outer edge of each strip a groove or socket 5 is formed in one end, and a tongue 6 correspondingly located is formed on and projects from the other end, the groove being adapted to receive the tongue of an abutting strip and the tongue to fit into the groove of another abutting strip of the same tier. Each strip is provided with a straight and preferably full-length tongue 7, disposed at right angles to the radius on which the curved strips are struck, said tongue projecting from one of the horizontal faces of the strip, and formed in the other horizontal face of the strip is a pair of outwardly converging and intersecting grooves 8, the meeting ends of said grooves being disposed the same distance from the inner curved edge of the strip as are the extremities of the tongue 7 and the opposite ends of said groves the same distance from the inner edge of the strip as the central part of the tongue. In other words the grooves each extend at right angles to the radius of the curvature of the strips and the grooves are of size to snugly receive the corresponding tongues of the strips of the adjacent tier of strips. By providing each strip with a tongue at one side and grooves at the other side which intersect the plane of the tongue midway between its central portion and ends, it necessarily follows that when a tier of the strips is laid upon another tier with the grooved face of one engaging the tongued face of the other, the strips of the upper tier must be arranged in break-joint relation to the strips of the other tier as otherwise the grooves 8 of one strip could not each receive half of the length of the tongues of the engaging strips of the adjacent tier. Preferably the strips will be laid with their tongued faces upward and they must be fitted directly down in position as it is impossible provided the tongues 7 and grooves 8 are adapted for snug engagement to secure any strip in place by slidable movement edgewise or otherwise. As a precaution against separation of the strips due to upward movement induced by expansion of the wood under wet weather, they may be secured together, but as it is customary to nail or otherwise secure adjacent strips together and no claim is made to the same, it

is deemed unnecessary to illustrate such construction.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a strong, durable and economical silo and one which can be erected without skilled labor as it is impossible to set a strip at any other point except in proper break-joint relation with a pair of strips of the adjacent tier.

I claim z 1. A silo composed of tiers of blocks arranged in break-joint relation, each tier consisting of a series of blocks arranged end to end and each block having a straight tongue projecting from one of its faces, and a pair of straight outwardly converging grooves in its opposite face, the tongue being adapted to engage the outwardly converging grooves ofapair of abutting blocks of another tier and the grooves receiving 7 A pair of abutting blocks tongue projecting from one end and a,

groove formed in opposite end, the tongue fitting in a corresponding groove in an abutting block of the same tier and the groove receiving the tongue of another abutting block of the same tier.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses. v

GEORGE O. BLAIR. Witnesses:

H. C. RoDenRs', G. Y. THORPE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). G. i 

